1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to fiber lasers. More particularly, the present invention relates to mode locked fiber lasers.
2. The Prior Art
Fiber lasers are known in the prior art. Such lasers have been coupled to narrow band bulk mode lockers, such as acousto-optic devices. For example, see I. P. Alcock, A. I. Ferguson, D. C. Hanna and A. C. Tropper, Electron. Lett. 22, 268 (1986); and I.N. Duling III, L. Goldberg and J. F. Weller, in Digest of Optical Society of America Annual Meeting (Optical Society of America, Washington, D.C., 1988), paper FU5; to be published in Electron. Lett. A sinusoidally driven integrated optic modulator at 30 MHz has been reported for use with a fiber laser for the purpose of mode locking in order to match pulse repetition rate to fiber lengths in the range of 3.5 meters. G. Geister, et al., Neodymium--Fiber Laser with Integrated Optic Mode Locker Optics Communications, Vol. 68, No. 3, October, 1988, p. 187.